Chapter 24

“I’m just glad you fellers got here when you did, but I’m a mite surprised too,” Jeff said.

“We were warned,” said Adam Zumwalt, captain of the Lavaca militia. “I reckon the men who came to tell us that the Comanches were out in force figured the fight was over after that first day. First time I ever heard of them sticking around after a raid! Ben McCulloch is on the way here too; he sent a rider from Gonzales to let me know, and John Tumlinson is assembling a company of volunteers right here in Victoria.”

“We’ll talk to him,” Milton said. “But where will he get horses? I doubt there’s a single live horse in Victoria, and judging by what you said earlier, there aren’t any in the vicinity.”

“We’re bringing extras, probably enough for all of you,” Zumwalt said. “I’ll bet John will be glad to have you two along! I hear you put up a good fight!”

“We killed a few,” Jeff said, and Milton nodded assent.

“More than a few, the way others tell it,” Zumwalt observed. “But I need to get back to my men, so I’ll talk to you later. Ma’am?” he nodded farewell to Penelope, who nodded back.

“Milton, we need to mold a bunch of balls before we take off,” Jeff said. “Penelope, if you would oblige me by stoking the fireplace while we bring the molds and a pound or two of lead?”

She did, and while the molds were warming at the edge of the fire and the lead in the ladle was melting, the cousins refilled their powder horns. After a search through the gun-shop, they also found powder flasks with spouts designed to deliver a precise amount of powder to the pistol chambers. They topped the flasks off with powder and added them to their possibles bags.

While they were busy preparing, Penelope and the other women cooked a meal and wrapped packs of jerky for them to take along.

They ate rapidly, Jeff thanked the women and cautioned them to be careful, then the two headed off to look for Captain Tumlinson. “You ever meet him, Cousin?” Jeff asked.

“Not that I recall,” admitted Milton. “Probably lots of folks in Victoria that we don’t know, because they don’t come in to the gun-shop and we don’t go visiting in the town. I reckon you’d have remembered Penelope!”

Jeff blushed, but said nothing. He definitely would not have forgotten her! For a moment, he wondered; what would she say after this was all over if he asked her to go walking out? Or would it be more proper to ask her guardian first? He was still mulling over the question when they found John Tumlinson, who immediately put them to work.

“Jeff, you’re company first sergeant and Milton, you’re second sergeant. Your job is to make sure the men have balls and powder enough for an extended campaign, and Jeff, I want you to inspect their weapons. I had to send one man away because all he had was an old flintlock musket!”

“We’ve got rifles for them that need one, but we’ll be wanting them back after the fighting,” Jeff said. John said he’d see to it and the cousins went off to carry out their duties.

“I figured to enlist as a private,” said Jeff. “But first sergeant? I don’t know anything about being a sergeant!”

“Neither do I,” said Milton. “Makes a man wonder about the quality of the volunteers! But at least we understand the jobs he gave us.”

“Yep,” agreed Jeff. “And because he knowed what needed to be done, I figure he knows how to be a captain.” By midmorning, mounted on borrowed horses and with several of the men armed with borrowed rifles, the volunteers, now part of a joint force with the Lavaca militia, rode out of Victoria.

Burdened by the plunder from Victoria and Linnville, and by the three thousand horses they had captured, the Comanches could move no faster than a slow walk.

The gaggle of militia companies and volunteers caught up with them that afternoon.

“We’ve got them, boys!” said Captain Zumwalt. “They’ll not willingly surrender a single horse, nor jot or tittle of what they stole!”

“You’ll not charge that many Comanches, will you,” asked Tumlinson anxiously.

“I’ll not be so foolhardy!” Zumwalt responded. “I propose to close with them until their drag riders are in range of our rifles and shoot them down. With no one to push from behind, the horses will slow even more. If the Comanches fire back, so much the better! The animals will scatter to the point that the savages will be unable to recover them, but we shall do so as soon as we’ve taught them to never again raid a Texas town!”

“That’s Mercado Creek up ahead, Captain,” Jeff pointed out. “And beyond that’s Casa Blanca creek. Both have fairly high banks in this area, so a few riflemen might be able to delay them long enough for the other companies you mentioned to come up with us.”

“Capital idea, Sir, a capital idea! Captain Tumlinson, I would be much obliged if you would take your command to the west and block them from reaching the creeks. I will attack from the east, and as soon as you hear my men open fire, do you join in!”

Once we were sure that the Indians had gone, we managed to round up a few of Jean-Louis’s horses. The raiders had gotten most of them, but some had escaped into the swampy areas along Garcitas Cove and we were able to trap them by herding them toward the water. After several men were mounted, the work became easier.

I spotted Ed Burleson among the dusty riders who rode into the ruined town that afternoon. He saw us too and waved, so me and Jean-Louis rode over to tell him what had happened. After I finished, I asked what his plans were and offered to join him. “Of course,” he said, “and I’m happy to have your assistance. By the way, I thank you for the gift you sent me, but I now have a replacement. This is one of Sam Colt’s new ‘Texas’ models, the same as our new Ranger company has.”

I was curious about his new pistol, but I was more curious about what he’d said. “Ranger Company?” I asked. I was familiar with ranging companies, but this sounded different.